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FINSHERS

After being slack in updating the last two training rides over the last two weeks (Kingston upon Thames, and Shadwell), the day had come for the big ride.

Last push on the fundraising got us to £1,700 - with the Lolly Jar competition raising £259! The 3.8L jar of sweets came to a 629 count, and the winner took the whole lot.

Catching the first Sunday train into Euston was an early 6.30am start.... one thing we didnt train for is riding that early in the morning!!!

We arrived at Brunswick Square and the excitement kicked in as a sea of riders all wearing the Leukaemia and Lymphona jerseys/shirts filled the whole park.

We got into our waves and started off our ride!!! The first 10 kms were quite hectic as there were a lot of traffic lights and it was quite crowded. But as the riders thinned out, it became a better ride with the available space!!

East London was quiet for that early in the morning... and it was quite cold with all the shadows between the buildings!

We got to Canary Wharf and road along the thames for a bit, then crossed back through London and heading towards Putney/Chelsea. I think we crossed about 5/6 bridges through the whole thing!

Before we knew it, we were down near Richmond Upon Thames which meant that Richmond Park was near....

Richmond Park was lovely with all the deers about.... we stopped quickly at the Refreshment Station there.... I demolished a couple of packets of haribos and off we went again..... little did we know, there was the biggest hill around the corner..... and on the lowest gear I was determined to climb this hill on the bike...... seeing the top of the hill, the sense of achievement was near..... then a couple of deers with MASSIVE antlers decided to cross the road!!!!!

With legs BURNING.... we waited patiently for the deers to cross and then was able to enjoy the down hill on the other side.... Richmond park had a lot of hills and it seemed like forever before we got out of it.....

With Richmond park down, we knew we were close to the end.... following the arrows all the way so far.... Karl pulled ahead on a straight strip to get some speed up.... only to miss a turn off and a group of us ended up following him.... to a dead end with no arrows.... hahah

Backed tracked and got ourselves back on the right route, and hammered through the remainder of the ride. The last few kms were packed with traffic, with the roundabout near Big Ben.... that was soooo busy.... poor motorists...

We got back to Brunswick Park Gardens, with the officicals cheering us in... and it felt great passing through the finishing line...

We collected our medals and downed another couple packets of haribos before chilling out on the grass..... and having our celebratory beers.

ONLY dampener to the day.... we went to get some lunch after the ride.... and some one cut through our bike lock and stole one of our bikes :( Gutted .... :(

Anyway - thanks to all that supported us and sponsored!! At the end of the day, it all went towards a great cause!!!!